From grunge to the melancholic works of Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Carissa Ackerman – designer of American brand Mandate of Heaven – can find a way of exploring the playful and joyous side of absolutely anything. Mandate of Heaven ‘s one-of-a-kind sensual clothes and signature rompers are constructed from the greatest fabrics this Brooklyn resident can find in flea markets, attics and on eBay. A vintage enthusiast, her focus is however on inventing pieces for the present, by adding her ideas, experience and creativity to the collective history of fashion. Daring and fun, her deliciously eccentric and glamorous designs are currently gaining cult status across the Atlantic.

FDG: The world of Mandate of Heaven seems poetic, sensual, fun, mysterious and surely cute but never in a submissive way, how did you achieve that ?

CA: “Thank you kindly for such lovely adjectives. Mandate of Heaven’s overall style is basically a semi-ordered conglomeration of the things I love the most, with sensuality certainly not least among them. However – like its cohorts beauty and mystery – I find sensuality most interesting when combined with something more substantial – and, if possible, somewhat unexpected – like a dash of humor, though, my own appreciation for sensual attraction is irrelevant. I make clothes for the human body and the innate sexuality of that body cannot be denied and, in my opinion, should not be ignored. In fact human bodies are awesome, we should play with them as much as possible. I think a lot of people are under the misconception that when women visually express their sensuality they are by default pandering to men, thus demonstrating submission. However the exact opposite can often be true as well (in fact, the assumption itself is fundamentally sexist !). It’s all about taking control of and pleasure in one’s own sexuality. I love dudes (ok, some dudes), and see no loss of power in turning them on. Anyway, I think one passes from a position of control to submission (clothing-wise) when one begins to dress specifically to turn on, impress or please other people, male or female, instead of oneself. The great thing is, to really be sexy, such submission is actually unnecessary. When a person feels sexy, others usually agree. Moreover, if someone isn’t turned on by what you feel sexy wearing, that’s probably a great sign that said person isn’t the right partner for you! Unfortunately, it’s often the rest of society – those that aren’t potential partners in the first place – that put pressure on others to alter or suppress their sexuality – i.e. submit. Despite being sexually attracted to men exclusively, I love to see a lovely lady walk by; sadly, I know many people don’t share my opinion. While I suspect such feelings of negativity often arise from personal issues such as insecurity, I also respect the fact that my sensual powers are not of value to everyone and thus cannot be my only social contribution. Likewise an awesome outfit cannot and should not ignore the sensuality of the human form, but it’s a whole lot cooler of an ensemble if it’s got other things going on as well”.

Mandate of Heaven Spring Ten collection

FDG: There is a bit of a vintage Hollywood feel and glamour – yet your outfits manage to not evoke at all sad souvenirs of the rise and fall of fragile starlets – your clothes seems rather empowering, especially those playsuits. Can you tell us about your signature rompers and the inspiration behind your upcoming collection ?

CA: “Vintage clothes from all eras are most definitely a huge influence on my work and the bias cut dresses and tap-shorts of the 1930s happen to be particular favorites. However, I’m not interested in parroting the past, my interest is taking this amazing wealth of discovery, invention and creativity that is our collective history and combining, reworking and adding to it to create the best art/clothing/lifestyles possible for our present and future. It’s funny that you mention the often melancholy situation of old school starlets, because they make a great case in point. While I have great respect and admiration for the ladies of our past, I always inwardly cringe a little when I hear people say they wish they’d been born in a different era. I love me some corsets and ball skirts, but I sure as hell wouldn’t love being socially forced to wear either every day. Likewise I do not imagine life was sweeter than it is today for women whose most promising means of overthrowing the intense social repression wielded by mainstream men was by entertaining them en mass on screen!

I’m definitely crazy about beauty and glamour. However I’m equally thankful for the freedom to view these attributes as things that enhance my experience as a woman rather than define it. Moreover, while I think there’s real merit in womaning up and dealing with a little discomfort in the name of visual splendor every once in a while, I see no beauty in a society that forces women to sacrifice mobility and function to the visual pleasure and social comfort of others as a matter of routine. In this vein, playsuits are totally empowering, because they provide freedom of movement. In fact, that’s one of the things I love about them the most. Moreover playsuits provide this freedom without eschewing the streamlined simplicity of a one piece garment. For this reason I find them the most practical style of ensemble to wear while working, running errands, any time I need to move around comfortably and worry free but don’t want to be in straight up exercise clothes. I must admit, though, that I was originally attraction to them, when I first began collecting the vintage variety with my mom as a little girl, because they’re so damn cute. In fact, when cut correctly, they beautifully flatter a surprising array of female figures, making them a very practical mainstay for a designer’s collection. Evidently, form following function can indeed yield sublime results.

Mandate of Heaven Spring Eleven collection

Concerning my upcoming collection Spring Eleven presented by four videos – “Greetings from the Gulf Coast” , “Greetings from Margaritaville”, “Greetings from Dixieland e Greetings from Pensacola” – I was originally inspired by my hometown, its history and heritage and its experience in the recent Gulf Coast Oil Spill (hence the shiny black wave motif). Pensacola has these amazing sugar white beaches, which disappear into beautiful turquoise water. For most of us that grow up there, the beach is a major part of life and a big point of pride (not to mention a key source of income for many). Naturally, the spill was a very scary problem. While I initially couldn’t do much to help from here in New York, I wanted to at least address and bring a little extra attention to the issue. Thus in my new collection I tried to pay homage to the beautiful Gulf Coast region and the colorful community that calls it home.I have an amazing book by Pensacola local Deborah Dunlap full of historic pictures of our beaches and the people that have enjoyed them. I started the collection by pouring over this book and subsequently designing several pieces based on beachwear from different eras. As I worked in our Bushwick studio, I concentrated on how silhouettes originally designed for the beach could with just a little reworking be surprisingly perfect for warm days wandering the streets, rooftops and local establishments here in Brooklyn (a concept that anyone already familiar with Mandate of Heaven might notice I’ve been playing with for a while!). From there I remembered that, interestingly, our current community of Bushwick/Williamsburg was once a waterfront resort town as well, which got me thinking about how communities all over the world are so unique and different, yet ultimately have so much in common. This reminded me of the importance of appreciating and taking pride in one’s local surroundings in general, whatever they are, the art of community building and how beauty can be found everywhere, from the black and copper mess of a devastating oil spill to the gleaming asphalt jungle of a city baking in the sun. All of these concepts became part of the collection. Stylewise, think preppy, hippie, pinup, parrothead beach bum, pioneer trustifarian, Southern belle from the Teens, Twenties, Thirties, Fourties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties Nineties and today, covered with oil. Meanwhile, in Pensacola Beach, our own local community really rallied; by the time we got down there to shoot, everything was mostly cleaned up. The oil spill is definitely still an issue, and will continue to have repercussions; however, thanks in part to their own hard work, the worst is over and the locals can soldier on. I think their dedication to the place they live is awesome. Times are a little harder for everyone as of late, but we can all help a little by playing active roles in building, maintaining and ameliorating the communities to which we are a part- and these are, in my opinion, the perfect clothes to wear while doing so”.

Can you tell us about your collaboration with writer and performance artist Kate Durbin and about the spectacular “Crystal Allen” ensemble you designed for her ?

Kate Durbin in Crystal Allen by Mandate of Heaven

I’m so glad you like the Crystal Allen; he’s a particular favorite of mine. Like most of the pieces she’s chosen, Kate saw that guy in a fashion show (our Fall 2009 Recession/Depression collection), and sent us an email to inquire about its availability. I was actually planning to keep the original in my own stash, but I knew the ensemble would be perfect on her, so I took her order as an opportunity to create a new, more perfected version in exactly her size. I grew up watching 1930s movies with my mom, and “The Women” – movie by George Cukor – was always one of our very favorites. While I have trouble with parts of the film’s larger message – as far as feminism is concerned, its a helluva can of worms -, I remain enamoured with almost everything else about it, especially the amazing clothes, created by the brilliant designer Adrian. The fashion show in the film is still the most fantastic I’ve ever viewed . The Crystal Allen Ensemble is a direct homage to an outfit its namesake wears while delivering, in my opinion, her best line in the film, and one which in many ways encapsulates the feminist/antifeminist tensions of the story.

Truthfully, the main reason I referenced this ensemble is that it’s just so damn gorgeous; and its elements, which I divided into 5 mix and matchable separate pieces, have so many interesting possibilities. However, its significance in the story was certainly of interest to me as well, and definitely not lost on Ms. Durbin, who brings to the table a valuable feminist perspective of her own. Moreover, its full-on late 30s glamour is a perfect example of Depression Era sartorial escapism in film, which was a big theme in our collection that season. I was trying to cheer people up after our own recent financial issues!Kate’s awesome, and wears our stuff just beautifully, she totally gets it. She’s got great taste and really understands clothes. Additionally, she’s super intelligent and creative, so she appreciates the pieces on multiple levels. Thus, collaboration with her is always a real pleasure. She began ordering pieces from Mandate via the internet, and as we corresponded about the details of her new outfits, we became friends as well as mutual admirers. Also among Kate’s Mandate collection are the Red Bishop, Rocking Horse Fly and Unicorn ensembles from our Spring 09 homage to Lewis Caroll’s “Through the Looking Glass”, and a Cinderella Ball Ensemble from our Fall Ten Brother’s Grimm Collection”.